I'll protect you
by Believenfairies
Summary: Chloe, Derek, Simon, Tori have finally stopped running. They've settled in a small town and despite a few annoyances things are going well. It was as if nothing could go wrong until they were enrolled in school.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own Darkest Powers. How sad.

I don't really remember what the time frame was for all of the books but this story begins after the Edison Group has been defeated and it's late August.

First Day

The fight was finally over. The Edison Group was no longer a problem and although there was a chance that a Cable would try to get their hands on us, it wasn't an immediate worry. We all wanted nothing more than to get back to a normal life, or as close to one as possible. I still didn't feel safe going back to my dad. I was still having problems controlling my powers, and I knew that I was going to need a lot of help from Derek. Derek, ever since we shared that kiss, my stomach would tie its self up in knots whenever I thought of him.

Aunt Lauren and I had kind of intertwined ourselves with Kit and his family. Aunt Lauren didn't have to connections to the supernatural world that Kit did, but I really needed her with me, so she was around for moral support more than anything else. Her nursing skills did come in handy though. Living quarters with six people was a bit uncomfortable, but even though no one came out and said it, I knew that Simon, Derek, Tori, and I weren't quite ready to be separated from each other.

We were currently living in a small city in Oregon. Kit had found a rental house that was far enough away from everyone else that we could practice our powers without fear. The house only had three bedrooms so Kit had set up a bedroom in the den. We'd lived for about two weeks in comfortable solitude. Simon and Tori, who now knew that they were related, would go outside and practice spells together. Normally they worked well together; Tori could do most spells her first try although they were somewhat out of control. Simon would get so irritated with Tori's endless mocking that he would work three times as hard to replicate the same spell, but when he achieved it, he definitely had more control that Tori. They balanced each other well.

I was pretty hesitant to do much with my powers besides research so I would help Derek with his. Although he had not only completed the change, he'd even done it once on his own. We began to practice changing even when his body wasn't forcing him too. It took some getting used to, but it seemed to be working well for him. He didn't break out into fevers anymore, and he seemed less stressed now that he didn't have to worry about changing and attacking anyone in sight. Our only problem was that he refused to change on his own. He said that it was a comfort when I was there. Derek asked so few things from others that I couldn't deny him.

We'd grown a lot closer, Derek and I, and we were slowly trying to figure out how to be in a relationship with each other. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, although I did walk in on Simon trying to give Derek tips one day. We were taking things slowly, holding hands was about the only thing either of us could do comfortably; and I think that was only because it felt so natural that we hardly realized it. We were still experimenting with him putting his arms around me in public, and don't get me started on kissing, we did it, but only at times when we were sure no one would see. It's not like our relationship was a secret or anything, it's just that neither of us were big fan of PDA.

Derek, Simon, Tori, and I were on the couch watching an old syfy movie. It was a Sunday night and we had nothing better to do. I was trying my hardest not to comment of the horridness that was the movie, I flinched at ever awful camera angle, continuity error, and bad effect. I think Derek realized too because everyone in a while I would look up at him and catch him smirking at me. I had just elbowed him in the side when Kit and Aunt Lauren walked in.

Simon grabbed the remote and turned down the TV, "what's up dad."

"We just wanted to tell you guys that you might want to head up to bed and get some sleep. You have an early day tomorrow," Kit said with a mix between a goofy and a conniving smile on his face. I was very confused.

"Why it's not like we have anything pressing to do with our lives. Wake up, eat, practice, eat, screw around, eat, bed, then repeat," Tori droned. She wasn't so much being the negative Tori that we all knew and loved, she was just starting to get bored, we all were.

"Actually," Aunt Lauren began, "You all have school tomorrow. You've been enrolled at the high school and the first day of class after summer breaks is tomorrow."

I know that we complained sometimes about being bored but going back to school wasn't what I had in mind, I honestly hadn't thought much about school for a while. As sad as it sounds, my education kind of took a back seat over the past few months.

"Thank goodness, I finally get to spend sometimes with people who are normal," Tori exclaimed. It wasn't shocking that she was excited, she thrived off of attention, although she had calmed down a bit.

Simon simply nodded an okay, but I was in panic overdrive. All I could think about was the last time I was inside a school. I'd been chased by a burned, dead janitor. I may have had a better understanding of my powers now than I did then, but that didn't mean that I could handle another situation like that, especially with other people around. I still had nightmares for goodness sake.

Sitting next to Derek, I think he could feel that I was getting upset, I'm sure I was shaking a bit. He put his arm around me, even though we were in public, he took my cheek lightly in his hand and turned my face to his.

"What's wrong," he whispered it so quietly that I was sure that I was the only one who'd heard him, but the talking in the room stopped and I realized that all eyes were on me.

I looked into Derek's emerald green eyes that still made my heart stop and felt tears well up in my own. I knew that I was scared of leaving our little utopia, but I guess my body was more afraid than my brain realized.

"I…I…I just…I want," I sighed and drew my eyes down. Everyone was looking at me, and despite the fact that they were my friends and family I was just too upset to try to explain this to them. I didn't fully understand why I was so upset myself, but I knew that Derek would understand.

I looked back up at him, "I j-just… a-at m-m-my la-ast… I'm j-just," I just suck is what I wanted to say. Why couldn't I get this out? I did the only think I could think of despite how juvenile it would seem later, I leaned forward an pressed my face into his chest and threw my arms around him. It was the only place where I knew I would feel completely safe.

"Chloe, baby," I could hear the concern in my aunt's voice but the tears were running down my face now and I though it better not to let her see those.

"I need to talk to Chloe," Derek demanded, he was stroking my hair, now a light brown that was much more flatter than black. I knew that no one had moved because I didn't hear any feet or movement of any kind, I could still feel the eyes at my back.

"Will everyone just get out," Derek was getting irritated. He knew that I was upset and he knew that I wasn't going to say anything until everyone cleared out. However, I knew that Derek yelling at everyone wasn't going to make things better. Thank goodness for Kit.

"Lauren why don't we give them some time," my aunt started to protest but Kit cut her off, "Chloe needs someone to talk…" their voiced faded out I was pretty sure they'd gone into the kitchen. I heard Simon and Tori leave and when the coast was clear Derek took my chin into hands again and forced my eyes to meet his.

"Chloe," at the mention of my name and the worry in his voice more tears began to fall. "Talk to me."

"I just… I just… I'm scared," I finally managed to push out.

"What are you afraid of," that was what I liked about Derek. He knew when to comfort me and when to get me talking, and believe it or not, I really needed him to know exactly what had happened at my old school. As far as I'm concerned seeing that janitor was the first step that lead me down the path to the Edison Group. I told him about the janitor and how I woke up in the hospital and how everyone thought I was crazy, including me. The story flew out of my mouth only interrupted by my stupid stutter a few times. I knew in the back of my mind that I'd over reacted with the tears, but the more I talked to Derek the more I calmed down until the tears had finally come to a halt.

Derek didn't say anything immediately say anything but his hold on my hand, which he has somehow taken a hold of was tighter than usual. "Although tears were a little much," he smirked at me and I fronded "I guess I can understand. You're last school experience was worse than mine. But you know what, I'm not worried."

That was the last thing I thought he'd say. "Chloe you're stronger than you use to be. You know what to expect and how to banish ghosts back to the other side. Don't let something that happened a long time ago mess you up."

He was right he was always right. I knew that I probably looked a mess, I wasn't one of those people who were instantly more attractive when tears became involved. My face got all red and splotchy, and I got rings around my eyes like I'd just been in a fist fight, but when I smiled up at Derek, he smiled back too, a smile that he seemed only to reserve for me. He leaned into me and his lips met mine. The kiss wasn't long or intricate, but I knew what he was saying.

_Don't worry, I'll always protect you._

Please R&R. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Please forgive me but I put them all in the same grade because it just makes my life easier. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Some of you were right on the money with what life's going to be like at school for Chloe, and others gave me some interesting ideas.

Chapter 2

As I lay in bed that night I knew that Derek would make sure that nothing happened to me. He was more protective than a mother bed with her cubs. I smiled at the imagery, but I couldn't help but worry about what the next day held. Even if I went through the day without seeing a single ghost I would still have to worry about constantly being surrounded by people that I didn't know. If the thought of ghosts didn't kill me, ridicule from others because of my stutter would. I sighed and looked at the clock on the night stand that separated Tori and my bed. 3:15am. I turned to face the wall. I might at well get some sleep. I was going to need it.

The alarm, which we'd never needed until this point, went off, and I turned surprised to find Tori not in the room. Tori had been so excited at the prospect of "returning to civilization" as she'd put it that I wouldn't be surprised if she was already there. The smell of breakfast pulled me out of bed and into the kitchen where Kit was a god. There was already two different kinds of sausage, bacon, toast, and he was currently placing two eggs over medium on Aunt Laurens plate. Simon had a bowl of fresh mixed fruit that we always kept in the fridge for him, as well as a bagel and cream cheese, toast and orange juice.

"Chloe," Kit exclaimed, "what kind of an omelet do you want?"

"Um… whatever, I don't care," I couldn't think about food right now. In a few hours Kit would drop us off at the local high school. I thought I'd wanted a normal life with some stability, but I think all I really wanted was to not have to fear for my life.

I sat down In between Aunt Lauren and Derek, I had long ago given up trying to convince Kit I was old enough to make my own plate of food. I think he got some strange satisfaction from feeding us. Maybe it was a man thing. Derek took a break from eating to stare at me. He didn't ask me if I was alright but I could tell that he was trying to decide if I'd gotten enough sleep and if was any calmer than last night. I knew that I had a few bags under my eyes and I probably looked a bit more frazzled that I normally did (I did a lot of tossing and turning), but Derek must have decided that I passed the test because me just gave me a nod and turned back to his food. Kit placed my plate in front of me and soon followed with one of his own and we all ate in a relatively comfortable silence.

Aunt Lauren soon broke the mood, "alright guys you have fifteen minutes, it's a bit of a drive to the school and we want you there in plenty of time to get your schedules and find your classes."

Tori practically flew up from her chair to put the finishing touches on her make-up; she'd only had a smoothie for breakfast, commenting on how she had to watch her figure. Simon started digging around for his shoes, I don't know why but for some reason they never seemed to be in any place practical.

"I wonder how long it's going to take him to remember he left them outside," Derek whispered into my ear. I couldn't help but smile, he put his hand on my knee in support for just a second before he stood facing his dad.

"Dad, can I talk to you for a second," he asked already headed for the back door.

I got up and went to my room to get dressed, it wasn't going to take me very long so I wasn't really in a hurry. Tori was applying more eyeliner (how much did she need) and I went to my closet and pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans, and quickly pulled on a dark green long sleeved shirt before Tori noticed me standing in nothing but my bra. She said that she didn't care if I changed in front of her, but every time I thought about it, I felt the blush appear on my face. I pulled on my black sneakers and grabbed my backpack. Tori was leaning down in the chair that she'd been in while applying her makeup to pull on her shoes. I reached over and pulled the grey zip up hoodie off the back of the chair. It was really Derek's but I wore it just about every day. I was sure that he knew he wasn't getting it back. The hoodie went down to my thighs and I had to constantly push up the sleeves to use my hands, but I loved it anyway, I guess you could call it my security blanket. I pulled the hoodie on and slung my back pack over my shoulder and trudged out of the room. Derek's hoodie may have brought me comfort but I still wasn't 100% comfortable with the idea of going back to school.

Everyone but Simon was in the kitchen, Aunt Lauren had set out all the school supplies she and Kit had bought as well as the lunches she had made in brand new lunch boxes (Derek's being the biggest), she really needed to find something to do with her time. I walked up to stand beside Derek and Aunt Lauren took my back pack and started filling it with what I would need for the day. I sighed a bit louder than I meant to. I knew that I was being a little bit ridiculous but… I couldn't help it. Derek's hand twitched a little, he hesitantly reached out and took mine. I knew that he knew I needed his support, he just wasn't sure how I'd feel about getting it in front of the rest of the family. I took his hand and squeezed it. I smiled up at him letting him know that I really was okay. We locked eyes for probably longer than we should have, we just couldn't seem to help it.

"I found them," Simon yelled walking into the kitchen with his shoes held high like a trophy. Derek and I were both jerked back to reality, we let go of each others hands but stayed side by side.

A few minutes later we were all in Kit's van making the twenty minute drive to school. Tori talked about her plans for the climb to popularity, Simon talked about finally being able to play basketball again while Derek and I just sat in the back. As Kit was pulling up to the school I leaned forward to get out of the van and I froze, I just stopped moving.

"Chloe," Derek said from behind me.

I couldn't turn around and face him, "Yes?"

"Don't worry about it, everything it taken care of."

I turned around and looked at him. I'm sure my eyes screamed confused, he just smirked and nudged me out of the car. I don't remember much of the walk to the office. I know that Derek had put his arm around my shoulder, despite the crowds, and my eyes never lifted from my shoes. We walked into the office, Simon gave the secretary our names and she handed us all our schedules. Derek led us all out of the room and into the hallway. The school was small and there weren't any lockers so that was one less thing we had to worry about. Derek, Simon, and I pulled out our schedules.

"Tori let me see your schedule," Simon called out holding out his hand, while we were all comparing Tori was evaluating the school, I could tell from the look in her eye that she had spotted a few guys that she was prepared to sink her teeth into.

"What," she said turning back to Simon.

"I said let me see your schedule. I want to see if we have any of the same classes." Tori wordlessly handed over her schedule. I followed her eyes to a guy leaning against a wall talking to two other guy. He was wearing a leather jacket, I'm not kidding, it was like he fell out of Grease only with shorter hair.

I turned my attention back to the schedules. I kept looking back and forth from my schedule to everyone else. The school day only consisted of four classes and… I couldn't believe it.

"This can't be right," I said. "I looked up at Derek "Did you do this?"

He just smirked in response, the first bell rang, "Let's get to class," he put his arm back around my shoulder and steered me towards our first class.

"Is that what you were talking to you dad about?"

Derek didn't say anything he just walked forward but I caught a hint of a smile.

"How did he manage to do it so fast, that was only this morning."

Derek slid his arm down my back and took my hand, I was so grateful that I didn't have to endure this alone that I didn't even blush at the gesture. I looked up and was slammed back into reality.

I stopped in my path, there were about thirteen people in the class, including the teacher, and they were all staring at us. Conversation didn't cease as drastically as it normally does in the movies, but the room definitely got quieter. Derek, not even phased by the situation walked us to two seats in the back corner of the class He pushed me into a chair and sat in the one across from me and waited for class to begin. I don't know how he did that. I was finally forced into the reality of the situation and I was nervous. Not only were there people staring at us, but I also started to get hat twitchy feeling in the back of my head, like when there was a dead body near. I was so worked up that I wasn't sure if there was really a body around or if I just had a head ace. I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't hear the teacher talking. Derek nudged me.

"This is a small enough town that we all know each other, but why don't you two introduce yourselves," she said with a smile plastered on her face.

Derek stood up first, thank goodness. "Derek Souza," he was about to sit down when the teacher signaled for him to wait.

"Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from?"

Luckily Kit had made us work out a cover story in case we were ever asked.

"I live just outside of town with my brother, sister, and dad." He did sit down then clearly signaling that he didn't want to talk anymore. I knew that he was being rude and normally I would nudge him for it but this time I didn't do more than stare at the rest of the class, they were all turned around in their seats looking at us, but one girl in particular caught my eye. It was like she fell out of a lifetime movie. She was dressed in all pink with curly blond hair and she was looking at Derek like… well, in a way that I wasn't very comfortable with.

"And you…" I heard the teacher say. I shakily got up from my seat and looked down at Derek, he nodded to me, silently telling me that it would be alright.

"M-my…my… name is," I could hear some people giggling. I took a deep breath just like Derek always told me too. "I-I-I'm C-Chloe, a-and… and I m-moved here, with… with my aunt." I sat down as quickly as I could face beat red.

"Well done Chloe, well class welcome to 11th grade English. As most of you know I'm not a hard teacher but you'll have to work for a good grade…"

The rest of the class droned on and I was hardly paying attention. I had heard them laughing at my stutter. There was also that girl staring at Derek, I knew I had nothing to worry about. He'd never pay attention to anyone like her… would he?

The bell jolted me out of my thoughts, and I stood up to leave. I looked down at my open notebook and realized that I hadn't written down anything. I couldn't even remember the teachers name. I groaned as I slid it back into my backpack.

"Don't worry they never say anything important on the first day," Derek grumbled. I knew that he really should be in all honors classes, he was probably going to be so bored, but he was willing to sacrifice that to be with me. I tried to remind myself of that as we walked past the girl in pink and she dropped a book in front of us. She looked up at Derek and gave him a phony pagent smile.

"Sorry," she giggled. "I guess I'm all thumbs today," I might as well not have existed in her world, she didn't look at me once. She just kept staring at Derek. I guess she was waiting for him to pick up the book. "My name's Brittany." Of course it was.

Derek didn't even look at her, he just took my hand, almost harder than I would have liked actually, and we walked out of the classroom. I looked back at Brittany, she was looking at me now, and I was sure she was planning the end of my life. She leaned over and whispered something to the girl next to her, and they both began to laugh. I knew they were talking about me. And I knew it was going to be a very long year.

Okay so that's it. I was thinking that I could just end the story here unless people want me to continue. I take constructive criticism pretty well, and recommendations are very welcome. Brittany could become a very fun character in this story. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3 Authors Note

**Authors Note**

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I really appreciate all of your reviews and suggestions. I've been pretty sick for the last few days, and I'm in theatre so work has been really tough lately (tech week for those of you who know). But don't worry the next chapter is coming I've already started it. Just wanted to let you know.**


	4. Chapter 4

Another chapter three

Second period was gym with Tori. We were playing tennis and I did my best to stay in the back of the line. I hate gym. I'm the clumsiest person alive and I have no hand-eye coordination what so ever. I ran away from most of the balls that came my way and flat out missed the ones that I attempted to hit. It wasn't long before I had the jocks laughing at me. I knew that I was going to be that kid from the movies that got picked last for kickball. Tori tended to stay out of it unless someone did something particularly rude. At one point the ball was hit to me and I jumped out of the way, the ball rolled and landed at a girls feet, I went over to get it and she pushed me. It wasn't like she placed both hands on me and pushed me to the ground, but she nudged me and I tripped while reaching for the ball. The girl glared at me, daring me with her eyes to say something. Of course I couldn't I was prepared to just walk back to my spot on the tennis court when Tori flew out of nowhere.

"Push my friend again, and you'll learn very quickly that I'm a very bad enemy to have," Tori grabbed my arm and walked me into the locker room leaving the girl behind.

Third period was much better, if for no other reason than I was with Derek in History. It was actually the only class I had to look forward to, and I didn't even like history. The teacher, Mr. Harris, seemed like a nice man and better yet he didn't make us talk in class. He was glad to address any questions on concerns that we had but for the most part he stood in front of the class and lectured, after the morning I'd had I was more than willing to sit and listen. A peaceful as the class was I couldn't get rid of the feeling in the back of my head, this time I knew for sure that I wasn't imagining it. There was a ghost somewhere. I knew I'd have to be extra careful. I made a mental note to tell Derek when we got home.

My last period class was going to be a problem. It was Chemistry with Simon, I was grateful that we got to pick permanent lab partners for the rest o the semester so I didn't have to worry about talking to anyone else. Derek dropped me off at class with Simon. We found a lab station in the back and started telling each other about our day. Just as the bell was ringing, signaling the beginning of class, I saw her, Brittany.

The teacher was a bit late so Brittany walked right up to our lab table and smiled. Smile might not be the right word, it was more like a sneer. She looked at me like she had something planned for me, like she knew something I didn't know. She walked station across from us, where a girl with the fakest red hair I had ever seen was waiting for her, then turned her gaze back to me. My skin was crawling, I was so nervous I couldn't seem to focus, I didn't even remember the teacher starting class. I think that my concentration dropped for a second because I started to feel pressure in the back of my head. It took me a second to figure out what it was. There was a body nearby.

That didn't make any sense, this was a school, there shouldn't be any dead bodies at a school. For a second I hoped that maybe it wasn't human, maybe it was a dog or something. I knew for the amount of pressure that I was just fooling myself. I had to regain control. I took a hold of my necklace, I found that gave me something to focus on when Derek wasn't around, and closed my eyes. In the back of my mind I heard Simon saying something, but I knew that if I didn't get back my control then bad things would happen. I tried to visualize my power as a ball to hold on to. I put my hand around the ball and held on a tightly as I could. It was Derek's suggestion and I thought he was being ridiculous, but of course, he was right. I felt myself regain control of my power and the pressure in the back of my mind dissipated. I looked over at Simon and smiled at him, "I'm fine just a head ace." He knew when I was lying, heck everybody knew when I was lying, but he let it go and turned back to the front of the class. I took a risk and glanced in the other direction. Brittany was still staring at me, and I felt the chills run through my body again. This could be a real problem

Sorry it took so long guys I was real sick for a while, then work just got in the way. But I'm back in action now and I have big plans for this story. I hope you all continue to read.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry this chapter is kind of short too, but I want to give you guys something to read. I'm going to be honest. I didn't proof read any of this. Please forgive me.

Chapter Four

I waited a couple days before I told Derek about the body that I had sensed. Every few nights, after everyone had settled down, we would go outside to a clearing that we found on the first day, and look up at the stars. We'd talk about little things that we didn't have time to mention to each other during the day and just… be together. I was still shy about a large amount of contact with him in front of other people, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to be with him.

We were sitting in the clearing, Derek was leaning against a tree and I was sitting in between his legs leaning against him. He was rubbing circles on the inside of my wrist. I was just about to fall asleep when I remembered that I hadn't told him about the body. I didn't want to ruin the moment, I knew he was going to yell at me for waiting so long to tell him, but the longer I waited, the more he would yell.

I sat up and faced him, the look on my face must have said everything because he stopped rubbing my arm and gave me the 'what did you do' look.

"I-I I know… I k-know…" I sighed and looked at my hands. "Don't be mad."

"What did you do Chloe," Derek sighed.

"I meant to tell you sooner but… the other day… I was in class… and- and, I felt… I felt,"

"Chloe is there a body somewhere near that school?" Derek growled.

"No… well, yeah but it's okay, I'm totally in control. I haven't raised anything on accident in months."

"Oh really," Derek snorted, "What do you call that chipmunk from last week?"

I slapped his arm, "That was an accident, look I just wanted you to know. Don't worry, I've got it under control."

It was dark but I could still see Derek's emerald green eyes rolling. I playfully hit his arm again as the smile I was fighting pushed its way onto my face. I hardly saw his arm as he reached out and pulled me into his lap laughing.

"Alright Chloe, I'll let this go for now, but as soon as things start getting out of control I need you to tell me… and not three days later, promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I promise."

He slowly leaned into me and I knew he was going to kiss me. I loved Derek but the idea of any kind of intimacy between us use to always make me so nervous I wanted to hyperventilate and giggle at the same time. It use to be so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that he truly wanted to be with me. This time however as I leaned in to him and our lips met I felt nothing but pure glee.

My glee ended the next morning when I woke up and remembered I had to go to school. Things with Brittany had gotten worse. She wasn't like the other kids at my old school who would make fun of my stutter or knock my books out of my hands, all she ever did was stare at me.

Simon and I were walking to our chemistry class talking about the horrible movie we'd watched the night before. The senior prom and serial killer theme was just old. I was so busy laughing at the memory of the blonde girl running through the woods that I wasn't paying attention to what was in front of me. One minute I was laughing with Simon, and the next I was on the floor.

"Chloe, Chloe are you okay?" I heard Derek's voice in the back of my mind. It sounded like he was far away. I blinked a few times as Derek's face came into view. That couldn't be right. I had been talking to Simon not Derek. I looked to the left, oh there was Simon.

"Chloe are you alright. That was crazy," I looked toward Simon's voice. His face was almost in full focus.

"What," it was the only word I could get out. "What happened."

Derek helped me up off of the floor. Floor, that was weird. His eyes were focused on me with such intensity that I flinched a bit. He was looking at my head, almost as if to make sure that it wouldn't fall off.

"Are you okay," Derek asked again..

"What happened," I felt like a broken record.

"We were on our way to Chemistry and a locker door flew open right in front of your face and knocked out for a second. It was so weird, it's not even like someone opened it," Simon exclaimed. He sounded almost excited about it.

I opened my mouth to ask someone to explain. I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I was still sitting on the floor. I looked up expecting my eyes to meet Derek's again, but all I saw was an icy grey. Brittany was standing in a flock of girls all chatting and point at me. She didn't say a word. Her eyes cut into me and I flinched. She smirked at me and flipped her long, thick hair behind her shoulder and walked away with her group.

I didn't know what was going on, but I did know that something about this girl was starting to scare me.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey it's been a long time and I can't apologize enough. I had the busiest job in the world and there was barely time eat let alone write. But here it is. I hope you enjoy. Oh and I should have been paying better attention to what I was writing, but in the last chapter where Derek just kind of shows up, my intent was that he was in the same hall and rushed over to Chloe when he saw what had happened. That's my fault. I have a hard time remembering that the readers aren't in my head. You guys don't know what I do. Oops. Sorry.

Chapter Five

"Okay so explain to me again what happened," Tori asked rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"I-I don't actually know. One minute I was walking with Simon and the next I crashing into a locker door," I had pulled the ice away from my eye so I could look at Tori while I spoke. Derek pulled my hand back up to my eye.

Derek gently slid his hand up the uninjured side of my face. He tilted my head until it faced his. My eyes immediately sought out his and I felt that goofy smile that I had no control over slid into place. I saw his lip curve up as well until he pushed my hand holding the ice back up to my eye. "Keep this on your face." His hand lingered on my face for a while though and my smile grew a bit.

"I think the point Tori," Simon started, Derek and I pulled away from each other but he placed his hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. I laced my fingers though his. "is that we saw the locker door open on its own. We have to take into consideration that there's something supernatural at the school."

"Oh come on Simon, what are the odds that there would be super naturals in this town other than us. I think your jumping to conclusions," Tori retorted.

"Well excuse me for trying to keep us safe, I almost hope t is another super natural, I'll be sure to point it in your direction," Simon yelled. I'm not even sure if he realized he was standing now.

"I'm sure you'll have to, it's not like you have enough power to do any real damage," she stood as well.

Simon opened his mouth to reply but Derek beat him to it "Knock it off guys. The last thing we need to start doing is arguing with each other. Tomorrow when we go back to school we need to make sure that we pay attention to our surroundings. If anyone notices anything strange, make sure you let the rest of us know. If there is something super natural out there, we all need to be on our A game."

"What about dad and Lauren," Simon asked "what do we tell them."

"Nothing yet, we've got nothing but speculation. We'll tell them when we have something concrete."

We were all silent for a while, I'm sure everyone was thinking about what it would mean if we had to go back on the run.

"As fun as this has been," Tori got up and made her way back to our room "I'm going to sleep and take advantage of this bed for as long as we have them."

Simon left soon after mumbling something about testing his blood sugar. As soon as they left I curled into Derek and pressed my aching head into his chest. Kit and Aunt Lauren had been in bed for about an hour so we knew that we could be alone. Derek pressed a soft kiss onto the top of my head.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck, my head is killing me."

He squeezed me a bit tighter, "Do you want me to see if I can hunt up some aspirin. We might have some in the kitchen."

"No," I took the now warm icepack off of my face and tossed it onto the table, "I just want to be with you." I leaned up and pressed my lips to his. Derek's hand immediately tangled itself in my hair. I felt his tongue slide across my lips asking to enter. I opened myself up to him and deepened the kiss. I could feel his slight growl and it made me smile into our kiss. Slowly we separated from each other, neither of us ready to take our make out session any farther than it had already gone.

Derek caressed my face, he wasn't smiling, or frowning really, he was just… Derek. "How are you?"

I smiled at him, "Derek you worry too much, I'm fine, a black eye for a few days and-," He pressed a finger to my lips to silence me.

I could feel his eyes boring into me as he asked again, "how are you?"

I knew then that he didn't mean my face.

"I'm alright I guess. With the exception of the locker incident this school is not different from my last one," I whispered.

"Does that bother you?"

I lay my head back down on his chest. I thought to all of this kids who'd made fun of my stutter, or the jock in gym class who laughed at me. "No, not as long as you're here with me."

Derek pressed another kiss to the top of my head and rubbed circles on my back until I fell asleep.

The next two days of school when off without a hitch. No accidents, nothing suspicions, and best of all no Brittany. I still didn't know what it was about that girl, but every time I saw her the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It was the end of the day on Friday and we were home free. There was monster movie marathon on that night and I planned on snuggling up with Derek and a bowl of popcorn. Derek had his arm around my waist and we were almost to the car when…

"Shoot I forgot my history book," I said, it was nothing too serious but we had a chapter to read by Monday.

"You can borrow mine," Derek insisted leading me back toward to car.

"No it's okay," I said turning back toward the school. I grab it and be back in a second.

I raced back inside the school and down the hall to my locker. The school had cleared out pretty quickly; all the better so I wouldn't have dodge anyone. I put in my combination and there was my history book, right where I left it. Just as I was pulling the book out my locker door flew closed almost taking my fingers with it. I looked up and down the hallway but I didn't see anyone, the hall was completely disserted and suddenly I wasn't so grateful. I dropped the book in my backpack and turned to exit the building when my eyes met her brown ones, Brittany. I knew she hadn't been in class that day, but I wasn't going to confront her about it. I stepped to the left hoping to just walk past her; she stepped in front of me, I stepped to the right, so did she. I flinched when I heard something slam. I looked up and a locker had flown open, then another, and another. I looked and Brittany and she just smirked at me.

"What's the matter Chloe, you're not scared are you?" Lockers every stared opening and closing with incredible speed, papers and books flew everywhere slamming into the walls and floor. Brittany was the super natural. I don't know why I didn't see it before. I turned to run down the other end of the hall but she was right there like she'd never moved. I was breathing hard now. I didn't know what to do. I could try to fight her, Simon had been showing me some moves, but I couldn't seem to get my feet to work.

"What do you want," I yelled over the noise in the hall. She did nothing but smirk again. I took a step back just I felt something slam into the back of my head. I fell to the ground and a book landed right beside me. "Leave me alone," I screamed again.

Books flew at me from all directions. I cured into a ball on the floor and did the only think I could think to, "Derek," I screamed. He must have already been on his was to the school because he flew through the doors and ran straight for me.

"Chloe, what in the hell is this?" he was trying to shield me with his body but it wasn't working.

"It's her, Brittany."

Derek huffed as a book hit the back of his head.

"What? Who's Brittany? Where is she?"

I looked up at Brittany, still smirking. What did Derek mean who's Brittany; she was in one of our classes… wasn't she. I thought back to how she never said anything when we were in class, how I'd never actually seen her speak to anyone. I remembered how she'd dropped her book in front of Derek and he didn't even blink in her direction, I thought it was because he was ignoring her, he wasn't ignoring her, he couldn't see her.

"Chloe?" Derek yelled.

"It's the ghost, she's a ghost."

Derek's eyes went toward where I was looking at Brittany. "Leave her alone, or I swear I'll…" she stopped midsentence.

"What's he going to do Chloe, absolutely nothing."

"Leave me alone. I didn't do anything to you," I shrieked as a heavy book slammed into my foot, I thought I felt something crack. Tears immediately began to fill my eyes.

"Maybe not," the ghost replied, "but you're a ton of fun to play with."

"Chloe," Derek said "You have to get rid of her, send her back to the spirit world, I know you can do this."

My foot hurt so bad I wanted to scream. "My foot, I don't know if I can."

"Focus Chloe, you have to do this."

I covered my ears and closed my eyes. I imagined myself pushing Brittany, but though my covered ears I could hear her laughing.

"It's not going to work," she taunted.

"Push harder Chloe, you can do this," I heard Derek say.

I closed my eyes even harder and pushed with everything I had.

"Damn it," was all I heard her say before she faded into nothing. The hallway fell into silence before I opened my eyes and met Derek's emerald green ones. I threw my arms around his neck and held on for dear life.

"It's okay, shhhh," he stroked my hair for a second before trying to help me stand up.

"Ahhh," I buckled back down to the ground. "I think one of those books broke my foot."

"Alright," he said, he reached to cradle me, "Hold on," he lifted me into his arms. "Chloe what happened?"

"I don't know," I mumbled into his shoulder. The bouncing he was doing while walking was really hurting my foot. "There was this girl, that I had been seeing this whole year and I thought she was real but apparently she wasn't and…," I let out a puff of air. "Can we go home now?"

Derek chuckled a bit, "What am I going to do with you."

He pushed the door open with his side and we walked toward the car. I didn't care what anyone said. I was never setting foot in a school again.


End file.
